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Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised concerns earlier this month about whether the prison and sentencing reform deal is wide-ranging enough but said in a brief interview that she is supportive. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

Warren backs Senate's criminal justice bill

Sen. Elizabeth Warrensaid on Thursday that she supports the Senate’s criminal justice bill, which is also backed by President Donald Trump as well as a rare bipartisan alliance of progressive and conservative lawmakers.

Warren (D-Mass.) raised concerns earlier this month about whether the prison and sentencing reform deal is wide-ranging enough but said in a brief interview that she is supportive: “I wish we could do more, but if we think of this as a first step, then we need to take that step.”

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Her thumbs-up for the legislation — whose Senate champions include Cory Booker, like Warren a potential presidential nominee for their party — could further boost its prospects among her fellow Democrats. The major obstacle facing the criminal justice bill, however, remains intense divisions over the issue within the Senate Republican Conference.

Warren and Booker are not the only potential 2020 Democratic presidential contenders backing the bill, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York signing on as a co-sponsor this week.

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Another influential Democrat in the mix for 2020, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, said Thursday that she’s still looking at the legislation, which Republican sponsors have said they may be looking to alter in the coming days as they search for more votes on their side to win floor time before the end of the year.

The criminal justice bill would expand training programs for prisoners designed to discourage recidivism, among other prison policy changes, and reduce mandatory minimum sentencing for certain felony offenses. The measure also includes a Booker-authored plan that would effectively end the use of juvenile solitary confinement at the federal level.